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supports the earth on his head), and the female, Padmavati (the goddess Lakşmī). They enjoyed unbounded delight.
Crotchety old Mahīpāla, it must now be told, was none other than the wicked brother. As a lion, he had slain and caten the savior at the end of his previous incarnation, and in consequence had been hurled to the sufferings of the fifth hell, where he had remained for a period of seventeen oceans of time. After that, for a period of three oceans of time, he had passed through a number of incarnations in the forms of quadrupeds, during the last of which he performed certain meritorious acts, and in reward he was reborn as this old ruffian. But the words of the grandson bore no fruit. The hermit continued in his unproductive practices, and at last expired.
The prince grew to young manhood, and when he arrived at the age of sixteen his father wished to procure for him a bride, but the youth rejected the idea. "My life," he said, "is not to be as long as that of the first Tirthankara, the Lord Rşabha; for I am tv live to be only one hundred. Sisteen of my short years have already been whiled away in boyish play, whereas in iny thirtieth I am to enter the Order. Should I inarry for a period so bries, in the hope of knowing a few pleasures, which, after all, arc but imperfect?"
The king understood. His son was preparing for the Great Renunciation; all cfforts to restrain him would be in vain.
The young man thought within his heart, which now was filled with the spirit of renunciation: "For many long years I enjoyed the status of an Indra; yet the lust for pleasure was rot abated. Of what use will a few drops of earthly water be to one whose thirst was not quenched by an ambrosial ocean? The desire for pleasure is only heightened by enjoyment, as the virulence of fire by the addition of fuel. Pleasures at the moment are undoubtedly pleasurable, but their consequences are bad; sor to satisfy the cravings of the senses, one is forced to range in the realms of pain, paying no lieed to moral injunc
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| SR No. | 007309 |
| Book Title | Philosophies of India |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Heinrich Zimmer, Joseph Campbell |
| Publisher | Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd |
| Publication Year | 1953 |
| Total Pages | 709 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 34 MB |